


The broken dragon's tale

by strikedawn



Category: Drakaria Series
Genre: Based on pandorarequiem's original characters, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-29
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2019-01-26 01:25:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12545720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strikedawn/pseuds/strikedawn
Summary: After a long journey to get a precious cargo, Endrius and Luka spend their last night of freedom under the stars.Things just don't go the way they would have wanted them to.





	The broken dragon's tale

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Pandorarequiem](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pandorarequiem/gifts).



> Endrius, Luka, and the world they live in all belong to Pandorarequiem (Pan!). I just played around with them for a bit ^^

‘ _There is nothing in the world like the night sky in the sea.’_

Endrius had thought that to be true, once. That there was no more beautiful sight than that luminous canopy reflecting on the vast ocean, with so many lit stars painting it that it was easier to find the specks of darkness between them than the other way around. It was easy to look back and remember his own wonder when he was barely a child, hiding behind old barrels so his father couldn’t chastise him for being a dreamer. They felt so close… so beautiful and just at the tips of his tiny fingertips, begging for him to reach for them and hold them in his palm—

Yes; Endrius had believed that once. That there was nothing in the world like the night sky in the sea.

Until he saw Luka stand under it.

Not even the rough waves shaking the ship would have made Endrius look away. Not when starlight played with the dark colors of Luka’s hair and turned silver the tone of his skin. It was as if Luka was a star himself, an astral being that had flown down from the heavens to rest against the railing overlooking the deck, a gift to Endrius’ undeserving eyes. His lithe body curved away from the wood as he leant his weight on his forearms, hands softly clasped together and eyes set on the horizon.

It wasn’t the first time Endrius had had the thought, but it was the first time he felt it deep in his heart, in his bones.

Luka was the most beautiful man he had ever seen.

The song of the sea followed Endrius as he walked closer to the railing. He knew Luka had heard him come closer —his pale ear twitched under the mass of dark hair, one of the earrings Endrius himself had gifted him years ago twinkling in the moonlight —but still, Luka didn’t turn. He kept his eyes on the horizon, towards were their homeland awaited for them. Even when Endrius joined him on his perch overlooking the deck, even when he made sure his arm brushed against Luka’s… he didn’t turn to look at him.

_Strange._

“What a beautiful view,” Endrius said through a smirk, eyes set on Luka. He let the words slip from his mouth like honey, in the tone of voice that he knew made Luka have to fight off an embarrassed smile. But this time he didn’t get the usual effect; Luka simply looked at him from the corner of his eye, long lashes obscuring the golden color of his eyes before he looked back to the horizon. His hands tightened on the wood of the railing, and then relaxed.

“It is,” Luka replied, pretending not to have understood Endrius’ double entendre. “You definitely don’t see as many stars back at the castle.”

“I can always see the brightest one when I look up though,” Endrius moved closer as he spoke, turning so his knee bumped against the side of Luka’s thigh. “It’s like it’s always right by my side.”

“Endrius,” Luka said, almost snapped, and his voice sounded hard and cautious but also a bit amused. It was the only thing that stopped Endrius from worrying too much. “Someone could hear you—“

Endrius shrugged; a movement that he had forbidden himself to do back at Court but that he had gotten very used to doing these past few weeks while they had been abroad. “I’m just talking about the stars. Also,” he moved even closer then, hand sliding over the small of Luka’s back to curl around Luka’s hip, his thumb brushing softly back and forth over the fabric on his side. “We’re alone.”

And they were. The rest of their crew were downstairs, celebrating a successful trading operation. They had been abroad in _Costella_ for weeks trying to make a deal for the precious cargo that they were transporting back home, and not only they had managed to get their hands on it, but the deal had ended up being beneficial for Endrius. So everyone was downstairs in the party that apparently no one had started, drinking all the alcohol available and singing so loud that sometimes a song would reach Luka and Endrius’ ears.

They weren’t exactly songs to be sung in front of a noble like Endrius, but he had no intention of stopping them from having fun.

Much less when that meant having time alone with Luka.

Next to him, Luka sighed. He didn’t return Endrius’ caress but he did lean his weight on Endrius’ arm, closing his eyes as the sea breeze took away the heat of the day’s sun. Still, Luka’s skin was hot under the layers of his clothing, and Endrius sought that warmth with eager fingers.

“What’s on your mind?” Endrius asked, words being said against the base of Luka’s horn, his lips barely touching the skin.

“Nothing,” was Luka’s immediate response, but it sounded breathy, almost like a sigh. Endrius was moving his hand along the soft, warm skin of Luka’s side painfully slow, and he wondered if it was difficult to think for Luka with Endrius’ palm sliding over his kin the way it always was for Endrius when it was the other way around.

“Don’t lie to me,” there was no heat on Endrius’ voice, only a small trace of a whine. “You know it takes us nowhere.”

Luka was silent for a beat of Endrius’ heart. The muffled voices of the crew and the loud roar of the sea filled the silence, but still Endrius felt it press his chest, worry brewing in his heart when he saw Luka start to bite down on his lower lip.

There were only two different occasions in which Luka ever bit his own mouth. And since they were nowhere near a bed, this could only mean Luka didn’t want to say what he was about to say.

But he was going to do so anyway.

“Hey,” Endrius whispered softly, using his free hand to make Luka turn his face towards him. His thumb moved to stroke Luka’s lower lip, pulling it free from the danger of his own lips. “What’s going on?”

“I’m…” Luka closed his eyes, as if he didn’t dare meet Endrius’ eyes. “I’m being unfair. That’s all.”

“I doubt that. You’re my advisor. You’re always looking for what’s best for me.”

Luka dedicated Endrius the saddest smile Endrius had ever seen in him. “That doesn’t mean I can’t be selfish too, Endrius.”

Selfish… Could Luka even be selfish? Endrius didn’t think so. Luka would never smile and pretend everything was alright for the sake of keeping appearances. He would never lie to the faces of people he cared about for the sake of keeping a status.

He could never be self-centered enough to ask the person he loved the most to keep their relationship a secret.

Not like Endrius had.

“Talk to me, Luka,” Endrius whispered, almost begged, and something in his voice made Luka’s eyes snap open, too wide in his surprise and as luminous as the stars. “Please.”

It only took Luka one more moment to reply but when he did, Endrius’ heart stopped dead in his chest.

“…I don’t want to go back home, Endrius.”

It was like a slap to Endrius’ face. He could feel his whole body go cold at Luka’s words, his hand falling away from the other’s skin— and Luka let him, let him move back to the balls of his feet as if he had been pushed away.

The guilty look on Luka’s face was what made Endrius finally speak.

“What are you talking about?” Endrius asked, trying and failing to keep his voice down. A home without Luka— he couldn’t even entertain the idea. “Where would you even go!? I don’t—“

Luka turned away, back to overlooking the deck. Their movements created a small distance between them, and Endrius observed it like someone would a cobra. He wanted to cross the distance but he didn’t dare; he couldn’t stop thinking about the possibility of Luka… leaving.

“It’s not like that, I promise,” Luka said, but since he didn’t look back at Endrius, Endrius didn’t feel reassured in the slightest. “I don’t have anywhere else to be. I just— I wish this trip didn’t have to end.”

Endrius’ heart gave one last painful squeeze — and then it went back to beating regularly as a wave of relief washed over Endrius’ body. He allowed himself to sigh and lower his head, his erratic mind already reacting to Luka’s promise. He was probably the only man whose promises Endrius believed in wholeheartedly; if Luka said it wasn’t like that, then he had no choice but to believe him.

“Then why did you say that?” Endrius asked, voice still a bit shaky. “It almost sounded like you wanted to leave m—“

“Never,” Luka immediately said, and there was so much conviction in his voice, so much passion, that Endrius looked up to meet Luka’s golden eyes. “I promise.”

Endrius nodded, holding back a sigh. “Okay.”

“I just… When we arrive home, everything will be the way it’s always been. And these past few weeks at Costella have been— so incredible, Endrius…” Luka’s voice faded away for a second as a soft smile bloomed on his lips. If Endrius had thought Luka looked beautiful before, now he looked simply breathtaking. “A place where no one knows us, with no expectations, with no secrets… This trip was the first time I was able to kiss you without looking over our shoulders at least twice, or been able to hold your hand while walking around, visiting the market. And I guess—“ Luka looked down then, his eyes growing a bit sad even if the soft smile was still curling his mouth upwards. “I guess the selfish part of me wishes it didn’t have to end.”

“…You’re not selfish, Luka,” Endrius said after a pause, finally breaching the space between them. His arms found easily their way around Luka’s familiar body, pulling him close until he was pressed against his chest and Endrius could kiss the base of his horn. “Those are things I want as well.”

Endrius wished he had seen this coming. Their weeks at Costella had been incredible for sure. He hadn’t been away for a second from Luka’s side; even when they had actually done some work it had been together, Luka standing by his right shoulder while Endrius sat at the table, the seller of their cargo nervously looking at them both from the other side as if them together were a force to be reckoned with.

But Endrius had loved every moment outside of that room. All the kisses under the morning sun, all the caresses while surrounded by people, the freedom to be loud and loving whenever they wanted to… Endrius wished for all of that to be everlasting too. He just hadn’t had the time to worry about it being over yet. The elation over sealing the deal and returning home with good news was too high, too bright to let him see the needle among the hay.

How typical of Luka, to be always one step ahead of Endrius.

But—

“But Luka,” Endrius started again, moving back only enough to look at Luka in the eyes. “You know we can’t—“

“I know. That’s why I said I was being unfair. And believe me, I rather have you secretly than not have you at all. I guess… I just wanted to mourn the loss of our freedom before reaching home. I won’t be allowed to even do that once we reached land, after all.”

Endrius felt his heart break at Luka’s words, the sound loud in his ears and his mind. Oh, how he wished he could give this man everything he wanted, everything he deserved. He would give him whole towns, whole _cities—_ He would pull the moon and stars from the night sky and put them at his feet if only that would make him smile.

Endrius would give everything he had to make Luka happy.

Maybe he was still in time to do just so.

“I love you, Luka,” Endrius said, emotion dripping from every word, and he felt Luka go still in his arms, not even breathing anymore. His eyes grew in surprise, more luminous than two suns. “No wait—“ Endrius added when Luka opened his mouth to speak. “Hear me out first. I love you like I’ve never loved anyone. I would give my life for you. I would _take_ a life for you. And that is why— That is why, when we get back home, I will make our relationship public to the Court. No more hiding, Luka. No more secrets.”

“You—You can do that!” Luka exclaimed, gabbing Endrius by his forearms, fingers digging into the fabric of his jacket. “Everything you’ve worked so hard for, everything you’ve done to get where you are— They’ll take it away from you if you admit to being in a relationship with me, Endrius, I won’t allow you—“

“They won’t,” Endrius said, so sure and final that it stopped Luka’s nervous ramblings short. “Because we have exactly what they want. If they want our cargo they— they’ll have to accept us. You and me. You know how desperate they are to get _it._ They won’t be able to say no. They won’t dare to.”

“I… Endrius, I…” Luka looked down and away for a second before meeting Endrius’ eyes again. His fingers never once let Endrius go.

Endrius let his mouth brush over Luka’s forehead, the ghost of a kiss. His heart was beating so wildly in his chest there were no nerves fluttering around Endrius’ body. Only excitement. “Just say that you’re with me on this.”

“…As your advisor… I have to say this is the worst decision you could ever make,” Luka said, and Endrius chuckled, hiding the sound in Luka’s hair. “But as your lover—“ he continued, and Endrius’ heart skipped a happy beat like every time Luka used that word with him. “—I don’t think I’ve ever loved you as much as I love you now, Endrius.”

Moving back to hold Luka’s face in between his palms, Endrius kissed him like there was no tomorrow. He let his mouth fill the spaces he had claimed as his own a long time ago, tracing with the tip of his tongue the outline of Luka’s lower lip before kissing him deeper, slower. His tongue slid past the barrier of Luka’s teeth languidly and Endrius swallowed his moan: a deep, needy sound that had Endrius pressing Luka against the railing and dropping one of his hands to Luka’s waist to keep their hips close.

“Endrius…” Luka whispered against his mouth, moving his hands so he could brush the edge of his nail along the colorful scales on Endrius’ cheek, making Endrius shiver in pleasure. “Endrius—”

Air was a nuisance when Endrius could be kissing Luka like this forever. The stoic, silent advisor was rendered a sighing mess when Endrius kissed him deeply, each and every time, but it felt like a blessing for Endrius. To know he was the only one to hear such sounds coming from Luka, to feel his fingers and his nails clinging to him as if he couldn’t bear the thought of being apart for a second. Endrius could spend his life making Luka sigh, making him moan and cry out his name, and he wouldn’t get bored, could _never_ get bored—

“Endrius—“ Luka whispered again, pushing Endrius’ shoulders to move back. Endrius grunted at the distance between their mouths, but quickly moved to kiss and bite softly at the column of Luka’s neck, not willing to stop just yet. “Endrius, did you hear that?”

 _Yes,_ Endrius thought, head spinning with the scent of Luka’s skin. _I heard you, and I want to hear you say my name forever—_

“Endrius, watch out!”

Instincts took over Endrius the way they always did in a battle. He used the grip he had on Luka’s hips to push him to the side and away, probably using too much force. But it got the desired effect anyway.

Luka was out of the way and on the floor when something hit the back of Endrius’ head.

Everything went black for a sickening moment. Even Luka’s voice, shouting Endrius’ name at the top of his lungs, felt like it came from behind a cotton wall, Endrius barely identifying the voice as Luka’s. Pain was shooting up from the back of his head to the front, making him dizzy and nauseous as he tried to see past the blackness in his eyes.

He didn’t even know if he _had_ his eyes open. All he knew was that suddenly there was too much noise, that the music from the party downstairs had stopped — and that everything was muffled by a ringing in his ears and the taste of blood in his mouth.

“Get up,” an unfamiliar voice said, and suddenly Endrius was being pulled up by his arm and thrown against something hard, falling to his side like a mere potato sack. He grunted as his vision swam, but he could see something else now — the glare of a fire moving against the dark sky, and lamps being lit all around the ship.

“Well, well, well. Looks like we hit jackpot right here.”

Endrius didn’t recognize this voice either. But there was a faint accent to it that had Endrius sucking in a breath; a familiar, musical tone that lingered in the air after almost every word, a sound that made you think of wind making a wind bell sing.

Endrius’ heart sped up as he tried to raise his head.

_It can’t be—_

“This can go two ways,” the voice continued talking, but moving away instead of getting closer to Endrius. There was the sound of something sharp scrapping against wood, and it only made Endrius’ heart beat even faster. “Either you’re a good tiny lizard and you tell us where the cargo is, or we’ll pull the info out of you. It’s that simple.”

No words met the voice’s —a man’s, most likely — request, and the silence stretched for so long that Endrius wondered if it was him the man was talking to. But then a sharp sound broke the silence, a slap, quickly followed by a grunt, and Endrius forced himself to focus his gaze beyond the light of the oil lamps.

Endrius’ heart stopped at the sight. A little ways before him, still by the railing they had just been kissing against, stood Luka with a man Endrius had never seen before. But just his appearance was enough to make rage burn high at the pit of Endrius’ stomach. Hair that grew puffy and crazy mingled with short feathers. Long, naked legs that ended in dangerous talons, the man walking on the tip of his feet and still brushing the tips of the talons against the wood.

Long, shiny, beautiful wings with brownish-gray feathers that sprouted from a muscular back and twitched softly in the night breeze.

_A phoenix._

There were phoenixes all around them. They had boarded the ship from the air most likely, and they had seized Endrius’ crew without rustling a feather. Endrius could see the crew now sitting close together around the main mast, another phoenix tying them close with a long rope.

But Endrius’s attention was soon averted when the phoenix slapped Luka again, sharp feathers sprouting from the man’s wrist scratching Luka’s cheekbone.

“What’s up, lizard? Cat got your tongue? I don’t think you understand the severity of this situation,” the phoenix said, speaking very close to Luka’s face. Even half concussed and barely able to raise his head, Endrius felt the need to punch the phoenix for breathing the same air as Luka. “If you don’t tell us where the egg is, we’ll kill you all. There will be no one to stop us from looking when you’re nothing but fish food, y’know.”

Endrius saw Luka go tense, and he did so as well. They knew. They knew about their precious cargo, what the nobles back at home, Endrius included, had been working so hard for: an authentic dragon egg, its shell pulsating with magic still despite the millennia that had passed since the last dragon had been alive.

 _If they get their dirty talons on the egg—_ Endrius thought, pushing himself up. _We’re doomed—_

A foot on his back forced Endrius back down, mercilessly. “Stay down,” another phoenix ordered, speaking low.

Endrius grunted back at them.

“Fine,” the phoenix man talking to Luka said. He was clearly the leader of the group. Endrius saw him reach for his own sad, feathered hand curling around something — “I don’t need you if you’re not going to say a word—!”

The blade of the sword glinted in the moonlight when the phoenix pressed it against Luka’s neck.

“Stop!!!”

Endrius only realized he had been the one to shout when the blade stopped shy from cutting through Luka’s neck. A bead of dark, red blood bloomed under the blade, sliding down Luka’s skin and past the collar of his shirt.

The phoenix turned away from Luka and towards Endrius. The smirk on his face sent a shiver down Endrius’ spine.

“Finally, Lord Endrius. I was starting to think you would let me kill your lover here.”

 _They’ve been watching us,_ Endrius realized. _Just for how long—_

“I’m sure you know what the deal is now,” the phoenix spoke softly, not taking away the blade from Luka’s neck. “Tell me where the egg is, or your precious dragon dies. It’s that simple.”

Endrius felt bile at the back of his throat. A negative was at the tip of his tongue but— he couldn’t stop seeing Luka’s blood coming from under the blade, dark against his fair skin—

The phoenix leader pressed the blade against Luka’s neck. “Time’s kicking, lord lizard.”

Endrius hung his head. “…It’s under a loose floorboard in the fore-castle.”

“Go,” the leader ordered, and another of the phoenix walked to the stairs without a sound. “See, it was that ea—!”

Endrius moved as swift as the wind. Pushing himself to his feet, he lifted his long leg to knock the blade out of the phoenix’s hand, Luka moving away easily as if he had been expecting Endrius’ kick all along. Endrius took the knife and faced the phoenix crew, adopting a defensive stance.

Not even a second later, Endrius felt the familiar press of Luka’s back against his.

“I’ve got you,” Luka whispered.

Endrius smirked.

“My, my, dragon’s got some balls,” the phoenix leader said, wiggling his fingers as if to get rid of the pain. “But do you really think you can beat all of us?”

Endrius breathed in deeply. He could feel magic snapping at the tips of his fingers already, tingling familiarly under the scales in his body. He focused his eyes on the phoenix, whose feathers ruffled in warning, and Endrius grinned.

“Watch me.”

He didn’t go to the leader directly. Moving in the blink of an eye, Endrius _flew_ to the base of the main mast, bringing down all the phoenixes he could find in his way like a murderous wind. Once he reached the mast he cut the ropes holding his crew off, setting them free, and instantly the crew charged against the phoenixes, magic and swords shining in the air. Endrius breathed in the familiar smell of a battle, a mix of fear, blood and sea-water, and turned.

They would regret hurting Luka—

But Endrius’ senses hadn’t come back entirely yet. The corners of his vision were still dark and cloudy, so he didn’t see the leader coming after him, the sounds of the fight making him deaf to the attack. The blow hit him on the side of his head and sent him down, Endrius’ world going completely dark for so long that, when he came back to himself, he was lying on his back and looking up to a hovering phoenix leader.

“The thing about you guys—“ the phoenix said slowly, playing precariously with a sword, making it turn and turn in his hand. “Is that you think you’re so smart. But in the end, you’re nothing more than worms playing in the land of birds. And you know what happens to little worms like you…?”

Endrius tried to move. He tried to move but his limbs were heavy, as if his brain couldn’t fulfill its function. Even his heart was doing strange things, beating loudly in Endrius’ ears instead of inside his chest. His vision was all over the place, only the glint of the sword and brown feathers letting Endrius know where the leader was. Endrius felt his mouth go dry as the phoenix moved closer, arm with the sword raised back with the tip pointing towards Endrius.

“They get eaten by the birds.”

Endrius didn’t believe in giving up. He hadn’t been brought up to believe in it; he believed in dying on his feet, body tired and covered in the blood of his enemies.

So to find his end like that, dizzy and sprawled on a ship floor, was shameful for him.

But still Endrius closed his eyes. And, like he always did, he thought of Luka.

_Please forgive me—_

The telltale sound of iron piercing through skin and muscles and bones exploded inside Endrius’ brain.

But the pain never came.

Instead, a grunt of pain reached his ears, a voice so familiar that fear made Endrius’ blood turn to ice in his veins. His eyes snapped open at the sound, big and terrified.

And found Luka standing in front of him, tall and protective— and with the phoenix’s sword lodged in his chest.

“ _Luka!!”_

Endrius pushed himself to his knees as the phoenix pulled his sword back. Luka fell back like a cloth doll, legs weak as blood poured out from the wound in his chest. Endrius rushed to hold him, lowering him easily to the ground. His white shirt was quickly darkening with the red that bloomed underneath, and Endrius’s arms shook as he took his lover in.

The wound in his chest was a dark, gaping hole that threatened to swallow Endrius whole. It made him sick.

“Why…?” Endrius wondered in a shaky voice, pressing Luka close to his chest. His words were a lament, a sob; Endrius felt his eyes burn with the strain of unshed tears. “Luka, why—?”

“Shh,” Luka muttered, letting his head loll so his cheek rested against Endrius’ shoulder. “It’s alright, Endrius…”

With a shaky hand, Endrius moved away the torn fabric of Luka’s shirt to expose the bleeding wound underneath and press his palm against it, trying to stop the blood flow. But there was no stopping it; the blood flowed through the spaces between Endrius’ fingers, over the back of his hand. The sword had torn the skin beyond repair on its way out, and not even Endrius’ hand was enough to cover it all.

“Don’t fall asleep on me, Luka,” Endrius whispered, heart skipping a beat when Luka blinked too slowly. “You’ll be alright in no time. I’ll make sure of it.”

 _I’ll heal you,_ Endrius promised, looking in that space within himself were all his magic resided for the old magic of healing. He prayed for it, begged for the chance to use it… But, like every single time before, the healing magic eluded him. It refused to bend at Endrius’ command, even when Endrius ground his teeth and moaned.

Warm blood slipped past the pressure of Endrius’ hand, taking Luka’s life-force away with it.

“Endrius… En. En, look at me.”

Endrius had never been able to refuse anything to Luka, and he wasn’t going to start now. He raised his head to look at Luka in the eye, ceasing his prayers as he took in the ashen hint to Luka’s skin, the tremors that shook his lower lip. There was a thin thread of blood running from the corner of his mouth to his cheek.

“Luka…”

“I’d do it again,” Luka said, words fast but true. As if he was scared of not having enough time or strength to say them. “Over and over. I’d save you as many times as it took.”

Endrius swallowed down a scream. It all felt like such a nightmare— he was seeing the blood that made his favorite blush pour out of the body he loved, taking Luka away from him. Endrius made Luka tremble from the shivers that racked his own body, but he couldn’t help it.

Luka was slipping away from him and Endrius couldn’t do anything to stop it.

“I’m sorry,” Endrius heaved. He wasn’t aware of the tears rolling down his cheeks. “I’m so, so sorry—!”

“I love you, En,” Luka whispered. “I’m sorry I wasn’t stronger—“

A bubble of blood made Luka cough, flowing from his mouth to the floor of the ship. Endrius pulled him up so they could press their foreheads together, noses sliding against the other, Endrius’ breath giving some life back to Luka’s cold lips. Luka mustered the little strength he had left to cup his palm against Endrius’ cheek, brushing his thumb against Endrius’ scales.

“You were always the stronger of the two,” Endrius whispered against his mouth, closing his eyes. “I love you, my beloved.”

Luka made a soft sound, but he didn’t reply. Endrius felt him go still in his arms then, shivering with a last intake of breath— and then his hand fell away from Endrius’ skin, falling lifelessly to the floor.

The sound that came out of Endrius’ chest then was heartbreaking.

 _Animalistic_ .

Endrius felt empty. He was just a shell, a vacant carcass that served only to hold the cold body in his arms against his chest, cradling it with all the delicacy in the world. His eyes were lost in the mass of dark hair that rested against his shoulder, looking at something no one else on the ship could see.

There was no reason to live if Luka wasn’t at his side. It was a truth that Endrius had always known.

He wondered if his heart had stopped beating alongside Luka’s now; it certainly felt like it had.

But then the phoenix leader moved closer, sword coated in Luka’s blood still in his hand, and Endrius felt two emotions start to brew in the pit of his empty chest, filling in all the spaces that were left behind.

Rage. _Vengeance._

“Can’t say I didn’t warn you, lizard,” the phoenix said, pointing idly at Endrius and Luka with the tip of the sword. “You shouldn’t have tried to fight me.”

Endrius looked up. His eyes blazed in the darkness, his arms tight around what was left of Luka, and his countenance held so much emotion, so much ire, that the phoenix couldn’t help but take a step back, fear making his wings rustle softly. Endrius heard the sound clearly, even heard the phoenix swallow hard, and only then did Endrius realize that everyone, dragon and phoenix alike, had stopped their fights to look at the brokenhearted dragon that had just lost the love of his life.

 _Let them look,_ Endrius thought, feeling his whole body tense in anger. _Let them commit my face to memory. It will be the last thing they see before I kill them all._

“This earth isn’t big enough for you to hide from me,” Endrius said, voice even and rough. He was looking at the leader but his words were for all the winged beings aboard. He would make them regret setting a talon on his ship. “Mark my words.”

The leader shrugged. Endrius would have thought he was unfazed by his threat if it wasn’t for the soft shivers that made the phoenix’s wings tremble behind him. “I have what I want now,” he said, and he pointed with his chin to where one of his mates held the chest with the dragon egg inside securely between her hands. “My business with you is over, Lord Endrius.” He added, before turning towards his own crew and waving the sword over his head. “We’re leaving, everyone!”

The sound the phoenixes made as they all took flight was petrifying, but Endrius didn’t react to it, didn’t go after them. He had no intention of attacking now.

He had to take care of Luka.

The last one to leave was the leader. Endrius, who hadn’t taken his eyes off him, regarded him from his position on the floor with cold rage in his eyes. “I will make you pay,” he said, voice controlled and even. The low growl of a predator. “I never break my promises.”

The leader smiled. “We will see about that. Goodbye, Lord Endrius.”

Endrius didn’t watch him take off. Instead he buried his face in Luka’s hair, pressing his lips against his scalp and whispering sweet nothings on his skin. The blood between them had run cold by now, but Endrius refused to let go of him for the rest of the way back home.

His dead heart beat with a new purpose now. Only when it was fulfilled, would Endrius join Luka on the other side.

 

* * *

 

Aqualis dressed itself in black for the death of its beloved Lord Advisor.

Luka’s body was settled on a bed of violet flowers, soft and beautiful like the man they gave rest to. A small bouquet of the same flowers had been placed in his hands, as it was custom. He looked as peaceful as if he was simply sleeping.

They had taken all jewelry from him, leaving Luka in ceremonial clothing and nothing else. But as he walked down the aisle and towards Luka, with rows and rows of seated nobles saying their farewells to the Lord Advisor in silence, Endrius played with the ring with his own family’s crest that rested in his index finger, warm from his own skin.

He came to a stop by the flowerbed, looking down at Luka. For a second, it almost looked like Luka would open his eyes — that he would smile sleepily at Endrius and palm the empty space by his side for Endrius to join him, waiting for him with sweet caresses and slow kisses.

But Luka didn’t move.

He would never move again.

Leaning down, his back to the rest of the nobles, Endrius slid his ring out of his finger and around Luka’s. It was too big for him but it fitted perfectly around his middle finger, somehow. Endrius would have smiled at that, if he could still do so.

Without moving his body, Endrius angled his face so it hovered over Luka’s own. His breath made the soft locks of dark hair that framed Luka’s face move, sweetly brushing against his cheek.

 _I made you a promise, my love,_ Endrius thought as he closed his eyes, leaning forward. _And I intend to keep it._

When he kissed Luka’s lips, a surprised murmur went over the nobles sitting behind Endrius, their voices soon transforming into sounds of confusion and anger the longer the kiss went on. A tear rolled down Endrius’ cheek, who said nothing, felt nothing, about the nobles’ discomfort. He could only care about the man in front of him, and his last farewell for him.

But the nobles started to rise, and suddenly it was time for Endrius to leave. Heavy travel cloak on his shoulders and weapons fastened to his belt, Endrius turned away from Luka’s resting bed and marched down the aisle, ignoring the calls of his name from angry nobles that demanded answers from him. Endrius ignored them all and left the room, the castle, and even Aqualis itself behind, as his heart guided him towards his new path in life.

It was time for the broken dragon to get his revenge.

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to know how Endrius and Luka look like, check out Pan's [art twitter](https://twitter.com/pans_art)


End file.
